updated 02:00 pm EDT, Tue April 24, 2012

ITC hands Motorola partial win in Apple dispute

Motorola won an at least temporary victory from the International Trade Commission on Tuesday. The agency found (PDF) that Apple had infringed on one of four patents Motorola had leveled, covering a Wi-Fi implementation. As with other ITC disputes, the determination still faces a review that could reverse the decision.

Apple is expected to appeal the ruling if upheld, but didn't have an immediate comment.

The trade dispute side of legal proceedings has worked mostly against Apple so far. It lost its own claim and, with the Motorola win, faces a possible trade or sales ban. Most ITC cases are used to both speed up civil lawsuits, where monetary damages leave a potential payoff, or to force a settlement.

Apple has been facing the prospect of settlements for disputes involving Samsung as well, which could lead to a relatively quick end if neither side insists on an absolute ban.

I wish courts would work together

“A court in Germany has already declared this patent invalid, so we believe we will have a very strong case on appeal,” Kristin Huguet, a Apple spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview, referring to the one patent Apple was found to have violated.

The patent it was found to have violated covers industry-standard technology and Motorola has refused to license it to Apple on reasonable terms, Huguet said.

The patent that was found to be infringed covers a way to eliminate noise so signals are clearer.

(above information from Bloomberg article)

It would have been nice to have actually given us this kind of information instead of the simplified overview, which doesn't tell us much of anything.

Re: I wish courts would work together

Except:
(a) This isn't a court, it's a trade commission,
(b) Just because one court ruled the patent invalid doesn't mean it is. That can be overturned just like any other verdict.
(c) Just because one country doesn't believe in the patent, doesn't mean all countries will follow suit. Patent laws differ by country (for example, a difference in 'first to file' vs. 'first to invent').